Officials offer tour of Texas migrant facility after concerns raised about conditions

U.S. immigration officials on Thursday gave reporters a tour of a border facility in McAllen, Texas, where migrant children were being held. 

The facility was still overcrowded Thursday after attorneys raised concerns about the conditions there, according to Reuters. Border Patrol official Carmen Qualia, who gave reporters the tour, said that the center had a capacity for 1,500 people but held 1,984, according to the news outlet. 

She said that unaccompanied children and families are now released within 72 hours as required by a 1997 legal agreement.{mosads}

Lawyers on Wednesday asked a federal judge to force the government to fix the facility’s “deplorable” conditions, according to Reuters. 

Children and teens reportedly told the lawyers that they were held in cold cells and made to care for ill toddlers. 

Reporters on Thursday saw clean clothing, toothpaste, snacks and a comfortable temperature, according to the news outlet. They also saw three Coast Guard officials playing with toddlers. 

Qualia reportedly said the facility was overcrowded due to funding shortages at other government agencies where migrants are transferred. 

Congress on Thursday passed a $4.6 billion spending package aimed at remedying issues at the U.S.-Mexico border.